euphorbia
noun
eu·phor·bia
yü-ˈfȯr-bē-ə 
: any of a large genus (Euphorbia) of herbs, shrubs, and trees of the spurge family that have a milky juice and flowers lacking a calyx and included in an involucre which surrounds a group of several staminate flowers and a central pistillate flower with 3-lobed pistils
broadly
: spurge
Examples of euphorbia in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Plus, with whorls of rubbery leaves, certain euphorbias create a fun, funky shape.
—
Karen Hugg, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2023
In springtime, plant euphorbias in full sun near the border’s front.
—Karen Hugg, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2023
These would include bleeding heart, foxglove, euphorbia, helleborus, irises, milkweed, peonies, azaleas, rhododendrons, and wisteria.
—Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 19 Aug. 2023
Combine 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia, asparagus fern, pink tuberous begonia, 'Key Lime Pie' heuchera, 'Dragon Wing' pink begonia, and 'Sinbad' angel wing begonia.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 June 2023
The neighboring iris, coralbells, dianthus and euphorbia — all sun-lovers — would have died from lack of sun and water.
—Bonnie Blodgett, Twin Cities, 29 June 2019
Black rhino—some mammalian reflection of the Jurassic, thick-skinned toughness of this landscape—lumber through the ravines, lunching on the weird euphorbia plants that are toxic to most other creatures.
—Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Dec. 2018
Other common euphorbias include crotons, crown of thorns, and many other cactus-like plants.
—Kenneth Setzer, miamiherald, 14 June 2018
Between the outcroppings lie swampy valleys, or vleis, fed by rainwater runoff and rich in acacias, mopanis, figs, euphorbias and other vegetation.
—Joshua Hammer, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2018
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Karen Hugg, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2023
In springtime, plant euphorbias in full sun near the border’s front.
—Karen Hugg, Washington Post, 19 Sep. 2023
These would include bleeding heart, foxglove, euphorbia, helleborus, irises, milkweed, peonies, azaleas, rhododendrons, and wisteria.
—Chris McKeown, The Enquirer, 19 Aug. 2023
Combine 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia, asparagus fern, pink tuberous begonia, 'Key Lime Pie' heuchera, 'Dragon Wing' pink begonia, and 'Sinbad' angel wing begonia.
—Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 14 June 2023
The neighboring iris, coralbells, dianthus and euphorbia — all sun-lovers — would have died from lack of sun and water.
—Bonnie Blodgett, Twin Cities, 29 June 2019
Black rhino—some mammalian reflection of the Jurassic, thick-skinned toughness of this landscape—lumber through the ravines, lunching on the weird euphorbia plants that are toxic to most other creatures.
—Stanley Stewart, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Dec. 2018
Other common euphorbias include crotons, crown of thorns, and many other cactus-like plants.
—Kenneth Setzer, miamiherald, 14 June 2018
Between the outcroppings lie swampy valleys, or vleis, fed by rainwater runoff and rich in acacias, mopanis, figs, euphorbias and other vegetation.
—Joshua Hammer, New York Times, 18 Apr. 2018
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'euphorbia.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, alteration of Latin euphorbea, from Euphorbus, 1st century a.d. Greek physician
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of euphorbia was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near euphorbia
Cite this Entry
“Euphorbia.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/euphorbia. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.
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Medical Definition
euphorbia
noun
eu·phor·bia
yu̇-ˈfȯr-bē-ə
1
: a large genus of plants of the spurge family that have a milky juice and flowers included in an involucre which surrounds a group of several staminate flowers and a central pistillate flower and that include a number which have been used medicinally
2
: any plant of the genus Euphorbia
also
: any of various other plants that belong to the spurge family
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